An Unlikely Chocolatier
by Softkitty55
Summary: What if someone other than Charlie Bucket inherited the wonderous chocolate factory? How will Willy handle the situation he hoped he never would have to face? Based on the 1971 movie.
1. An Unexpected Winner

**Author's Notes: Hey readers! Just to let you know I will be posting the next chapter of** _ **The Anniversary Tour**_ **sometime next week and so I will probably be writing these two fics at the same time. This idea popped into my head as I wrote Mike's chapter in AT so I hope you enjoy this one too and happy reading! :)**

Two down and two to go. Willy Wonka happily watched the oompa loompas roll the now inflated blueberry Violet Beauregarde into the Juicing Room. He ignored her despondent father's threats. Now all he had to do was to get rid of Veruca Salt and Mike Teevee, his two least favorite of the ticket finders. Willy's plan for Charlie Bucket, the good-natured boy who found the final golden ticket just one day prior to become his next heir was getting closer to success. Willy did not simply want anyone to inherit his factory, he wanted a kind-hearted and selfless child to become his heir. He scanned the three remaining children.

"Two naughty nasty children gone. Three good sweet little children left..." he told them as he led the group into the Lickable Wallpaper for Nurseries Room and later the Fizzy Lifting Drink Room.

The children were eager to try the Fizzy Lifting Drinks.

"Oh come on! Can we try some please?" Mike politely asked.

"Yeah! I want a Fizzy Lifting Drink NOW!" Veruca barked.

"No, no, no. Absolutely not! There'd be children floating all around. Come along now, don't hang about. You're going to be wild about this next room..." Wonka announced as he led the group onward.

"Wild? Are there animals? I want one now!" Veruca declared.

"Maybe later sweetheart..." Mr. Salt gently told his spoilt daughter.

Without saying a word, Willy led the group into the Golden Egg Room.

"Lo and behold, the Golden Egg Room!" he announced as he noticed the Buckets were nowhere to be seen. He looked at the ceiling for a couple of seconds and then back at the two families. However, both Buckets were still absent.

The families found themselves in a small room with a dozen of oompa loompas either scurrying about with golden shopping carts or gently patting large golden eggs. Near the ceiling were five enormous white geese resting on golden nests. Below each goose was a large scale that read "Good" on one end and "Bad" on the other.

"As you can see, they're larger than ordinary geese-"

Before Willy could finish, someone screamed: "HELP! WE'RE GONNA GET KILLED!"

The group froze in shock as loud thumping echoed the small room.

"That's Charlie!" Mike yelled, immediately recognizing the blond boy's voice.

"HELP! HELP!" Grandpa Joe's voice frantically cried.

At that moment, Willy realized that Charlie had failed his test, who probably stole a Fizzy Lifting Drink. He sadly stared off into space, his ultimate plan of Charlie being his heir failed miserably.

"What are you waiting for Mr. Wonka?! Find them!" Mrs. Teevee yelled as Willy sadly led the others back into the Fizzy Lifting Drink Room.

"Thank goodness! Mr. Wonka! We're up here!" Grandpa Joe bellowed from above.

The others saw the elderly man and Charlie both dangerously close to the blade.

"I told you not to, silly boy..." Willy flatly told them from below, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Mr. Wonka! How are we gonna get down? Help us!" Charlie cried.

Willy did not respond and simply blew his pipe whistle. Seconds later, a group of oompa loompas circled around the bubble machine and broke out in song:

" _Oompa loompa doompa dee do,_

 _I got another puzzle for you,_

 _Oompa loompa doompa dee,_

 _If you are wise you'll listen to me._

 _What do you get when you steal?_

 _Tempted by an excellent deal?_

 _Flying amongst the bubbles,_

 _Will bring you nothing but troubles,_

 _Then you will be sliced, sliced, sliced... by the blade!_

 _What a huge price to be paid!"_

As the Buckets listened to the song, Grandpa Joe loudly belched and sunk downward.

"Charlie! We gotta burp our way down!" he told his grandson as he belched once more.

" _Oompa loompa doompadee da,_

 _If you're not greedy you will go far,_

 _You will live in happiness too,_

 _Like the oompa loompa doompadee DO!"_

The oompa loompas continued as both Buckets managed to belch their way down to safety. Willy led the Teevees and the Salts back towards the Golden Egg Room.

"Mr. Wonka! Wait! We're okay!" Grandpa Joe yelled, struggling to catch up with the others.

"We're so sorry we drank the Fizzy Lifting Drinks! Can we please stay?" Charlie begged.

Willy gave them both disheartened looks.

"Are you bonkers? You're both out. You stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks! Could you kindly send the Buckets back to the foyer?" he asked a nearby oompa loompa who grabbed Charlie by the wrist.

"No! You can't do this! I'm not hurt like Augustus and Violet! I've always dreamed of coming here!" the blond boy cried, nearly in tears.

Willy sadly watch the Buckets disappear deeper into a corridor.

"Serves that pathetic peasant right!" Veruca scowled under her breath, thrilled by the strong possibility of winning the contest.

Mike also watched in sadness. Charlie seemed so innocent, so perfect on the tour. Even he noticed a slight feeling that Charlie was Willy's favorite ticket finder and would be the winner. Mike did not care so much about Willy's prize, rather he was determined to give his Everlasting Gobstopper to Slugworth, who quietly offered him a small role in a sitcom during his interview. Although he would only be an extra on a genre that he did not particularly care for, Mike could not wait to be a TV star.

"I don't understand it. The children are disappearing like rabbits..." Willy remarked, leading the two families back into the Golden Egg Room.

The candyman could not bear the fact that Veruca would become his heiress since Mike snatched a sample of his Exploding Candies For Your Enemies back in the Inventing Room. He would now rather host a whole new contest or have no heir at all. As they walked back into the tiny room, Veruca walked back towards the gigantic geese.

"Hey daddy! I want a golden goose!" she barked.

The British girl's catchphrase now gyrated the chocolatier's nerves and he hoped that she would somehow fall down the garbage chute very soon.

"All right sweetheart. Wonka, how much do you want for the golden goose?" Mr. Salt asked the candyman.

"They're not for sale." Willy responded with no emotion.

"Name your price." Mr. Salt demanded.

"She can't have one."

Veruca gave Willy the most sinister look she could muster.

"WHO SAYS I CAN'T?!" she roared.

"The man with the funny hat." her father nervously replied.

"But I want one! I want a golden goose!"

"I'm afraid you can't have one Veruca. If you attempt to steal one of my golden geese, you will therefore be disqualified from the contest." Willy warned, now desperate to rid her.

Veruca's face reddened.

"How dare you! I think I'm going to SCREAM!" she howled as she violently thrashed several ribbons at Willy and Mike. The spoilt girl then aggressively kicked several nearby boxes, nearly striking Mike, who flinched in defense.

"I WANT THAT GOLDEN GOOSE NOW!" Veruca screamed at the top of her lungs, shoving a golden cart towards a stack of packages. The entire stack instantly scattered and Veruca darted towards one of the eggdicators.

"Don't care how, I want it now! DON'T CARE HOW I WANT IT NOOOWWW!" she shrieked as she plummeted downward and disappeared.

"She was a bad egg..." Willy robotically told the others, relieved that the spoilt girl was eliminated at last.

"Where's she gone?" Mr. Salt frantically asked.

"Where all the other bad eggs go. Down the garbage chute." Willy replied with no emotion.

Mr. Salt nervously laughed.

"The garbage chute? Where does it lead to?"

"To the furnace."

Mr. Salt laughed harder.

"To the furnace. She'll be sizzled like a sausage!"

"Not necessarily. She could be just stuck inside the tube." Willy replied.

"Inside the...? Hold on! Veruca! Sweetheart! Daddy's coming!" Mr. Salt frantically cried as he bolted towards the same eggdicator that his daughter fell into.

He jumped into the eggdicator and disappeared in a matter of seconds.

"Hey Mr. Wonka? Is she really gonna be fried alive down there?" Mike questioned, pointing at the eggdicator.

"Hmm... well I think that furnace is lit only every other day. So they have a good sporting chance, haven't they?" Willy explained with some disappointment in his voice.

All of the oompa loompas circled around the eggdicator and started to sing about how spoiled she was and her parents were to blame for her plight in a similar fashion as the other songs. Willy listened in sadness, knowing that the contest was a complete failure. No winner. No prize. No heir. He wondered how he would find an heir now.

Once the oompa loompas finished their song, he quietly led the Teevees towards his office, where they passed the Television Room. Willy was in no mood to take them there.

"So much to do, so much to do. Invoices, and bills, letters... I must answer that note from the queen..." Willy sadly told them.

"Mr. Wonka? Where are we going now? Can we see another room?" Mike asked.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's all the time we have today and I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Excuse me for not showing you out. Straight up the stairs, you'll find the way." Willy robotically told them, gesturing the Teevees a nearby rainbow door.

"I'm terribly busy. Whole day wasted. Goodbye to you both. Goodbye..."

The chocolatier walked into his office and disappeared inside. Mike and his mother exchanged confused looks.

"That's it?! Was there supposed to be a prize in the end, mom?" Mike asked.

"Yes there was! And he just kicked us out like that?! How rude of him! I'll find out what his deal is. You stay out here and do not wander off..." Mrs. Teevee sternly told her son as she walked inside Willy's office. Mike quietly stood by the door, having no intention of wandering off. He fiddled with his toy pistol and closely leaned at the door, hoping to hear what exactly was happening.

"Mr. Wonka? What's the big idea?" Mrs. Teevee's voice asked in impatience.

"I'm extraordinarily busy ma'm." Willy's voice responded, who sounded irritated.

"Where's the prize? Don't realize that we spent so much money to fly from all the way from Arizona to just see this factory?!" Mrs. Teevee demanded.

"He won't get it. There's no winner today." Willy flatly responded.

Mike gasped in shock.

"Why?!" his mother's voice angrily questioned.

"Because he broke the rules..."

Mike gulped, not understanding how he broke a rule. He was the only one who did not get into an "accident" or an oompa loompa song.

"What are you talking about?!" Mrs. Teevee shouted.

This prompted Mike to creak the door open. He peered to see a small room with yellow and white striped wallpaper. Every object was split in half, including a desk, chair, alarm clock, sink, and a white bust that held Willy's top hat. Willy's face reddened.

"Wrong ma'm, WRONG! UNDER SECTION 37B OF THE CONTRACT SIGNED BY HIM IT STATES QUITE CLEARLY THAT ALL OFFERS SHALL BECOME NULL AND VOID IF- AND YOU CAN READ IT FOR YOURSELF!" Willy screamed as he grabbed a smaller version of the lengthy, shrinking contract that the children signed earlier on. Mike began to tremble in fear and the enraged candyman spotted him.

"COME HERE THIS INSTANT!" Willy roared as Mike slowly walked inside the small office.

"I want to show you this copy of the contract that you signed earlier today! "I, THE UNDERSIGNED, SHALL FORFEIT ALL RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, AND LICENSES HERIEN AND HERIEN CONTAINED, ET CETERA, ET CETERA! FAX MENTIS INCENDIUM GLORIA CULPUM, ET CETERA, ET CETERA! MEMO BIS PUNITOR DELICATUM! IT'S ALL THERE, BLACK AND WHITE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL! YOU STOLE EXPLODING CANDIES FOR YOUR ENEMIES AND KNOCKED OVER AN ENTIRE RACK OF POTS AND PANS IN THE INVENTING ROOM, WHICH NOW HAVE TO BE STERILIZED! SO YOU GET NOTHING! YOU LOSE! GOOD DAY!" Willy violently roared, slamming the copy onto his half desk.

Mike began to shake and whimper in terror. He felt tears welling up in his bright blue eyes and hid behind his mother.

"Stop it! You're scaring him! You know what you are? A huge jerk! You don't care about anyone but yourself!" Mrs. Teevee yelled as she felt her son tightly grab her arm.

"I SAID GOOD DAY MA'M!" Willy screamed once more as he looked back down at the queen's letter.

"Come on Mike, let's get outta here..." Mrs. Teevee whispered, taking her now sobbing son by the hand back into the hallway.

The Teevees quietly walked towards the rainbow door. As they walked up the blue stairs, Mike yelped as he tripped over one of the steps.

His Everlasting Gobstopper slid out of his pocket.

"Give that piece of garbage to Mr. Wonka! Defective candy!" Mrs. Teevee snapped, still furious at the candyman.

"N-no... I'm gonna give it to Slugworth!" Mike sadly declared.

His mother gave him a stern look.

"You are not giving it to that creep!" she yelled.

"Why? He offered me to be an extra in a sitcom if I did! I'll be a TV star!" Mike whined.

"Mike. He's just scamming you, and same to the other kids. It's just too suspicious, he could be a pedophile for all I know! You should give it to him before we forget or I'll take the TV away for a week. Eating those candies without permission was still very wrong of you. Now go!"

Mike gulped and nervously gripped on his Everlasting Gobstopper and slowly trudged the hallway. Mike now regretted his actions back in the Inventing Room. Though motivated by Slugworth's offer, he still truly enjoyed the wonderous chocolate factory.

The tiny cowboy slowly trudged into Willy's small office. The chocolatier was still busily answering the queen's note as the half clock loudly ticked. Mike felt himself tremble as he approached the candyman.

"M-Mr. W-Wonka.. I-I'm s-sorry I t-took those c-candies. H-here y-you go..." he stammered as he silently placed the Gobstopper onto Willy's desk.

Mike stood in the same position for a few seconds, waiting for Willy's reaction. The chocolatier was still writing his response. The little cowboy sighed and slowly walked out of the room.

As Willy wrote, he eyed the colorful candy on his desk. He looked at it in pure shock and clutched it. At that moment, Willy realized that he had no other choice but to make Mike his heir.

"So shines a good deed in a weary world..." he muttered to himself.

Mike was nearly out of the room as he grabbed the Gobstopper even harder.

"Mike... my dear boy... you won! You did it!" Willy yelled with fake enthusiasm.


	2. Revelation in the Wonkavator

**Author's Notes: Hey hey! Thanks again for the feedback! MattTheWriter, I'm so glad you like it but it's not a one-shot! This will probably be a longer fic and the 1971 Mike has always been my favorite of the brats and is nicer than the 2005 Mike, who I don't care for. Individualist, you shall find out what happens next and I'm glad you're enjoying it, especially how I mixed the order up! LinkWonka88, after you reviewed the last chapter, I tweaked it a bit and clarified Mike's motivation to give Wonka the Gobstopper in the end and I'm glad you enjoy it! John Hammond, like I told Matt, this will not be a one-shot and I'm glad you like Charlie's demise song! Now off we go readers! :)**

Mike sharply turned around to see Willy smiling at him.

"You did it! I kn- I'm so proud of you!" the chocolatier shouted as he awkwardly hugged him.

Mike looked at him in confusion and his mother walked into the small office, also confused.

"S-so, I'm not in trouble?" he asked.

"Oh no, no, no! Not at all! You passed the test! Please forgive me for putting you through this. Come in Mr. Wilkinson!" Willy yelled as the half door behind him swung open.

Out came Slugworth, a tall bespectacled man with a long scar marred on his right cheek. Wonka's arch rival looked on in shock, also expecting to see Charlie win. Mike and his mother were both puzzled.

"What are you doing here Slugworth?" Mike questioned.

"No, that's not Slugworth! He works for me! This is James Wilkinson!" Willy clarified.

"Pleasure." Wilkinson merely stated.

Mike looked at the scarred man in disappointment.

"So, there's no audition?"

The candyman glanced at his heir, disheartened.

"No, no, no. Don't you see, that was part of the test! But, my prize is something even better. More than just the chocolate..."

Mike's blue eyes widened in excitement.

"Ooh? What is it?" he eagerly asked.

Willy let out a weak smile.

"You shall find out very soon! We have to get on, we have to get on. We have so much time, so little to do. Strike that. Reverse it! This way please..." he kindly told the Teevees as he led them towards another half door.

Willy opened the door and revealed a small, unusually shaped golden elevator.

"We'll take the Wonkavator!"

"Do you mean an elevator?" Mrs. Teevee corrected.

"Wrong ma'm! An ordinary elevator can only go up and down, but the Wonkavator can go sideways and slantways, and longways and backways, squareways-"

"Squareways? How is that possible?" Mike squawked.

Willy sadly sighed.

"I'm sorry, could you please repeat that? The Wonkavator can take you to any room in the whole factory just by pressing one of these buttons. Any of 'em. Just press a button and zing! You're off! And up until now I've pressed them all...except for this one..." Willy explained as he pointed his cane at a large, red circular button that read: "Up and Out".

"Mr. Wonka, I don't like this..." Mrs. Teevee muttered, not trusting the chocolatier.

"Mike, go ahead..." Willy told the tiny cowboy, who struggled to reach it.

"I can't reach it!" Mike whined.

Willy sighed once more and quietly pressed the huge button.

"There it goes, hold on tight. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen..."

"Oh that's just great." Mrs. Teevee huffed as the Wonkavator began to quake and rapidly descend upward.

"Faster...faster...If we don't pick enough speed, we'll never get through..." Willy explained.

"Get through what?!" Mrs. Teevee yelled in horror, who began to feel nauseous.

"A-ha!" Willy happily shouted.

Mike grinned.

"Cool! It's like we're on a rocket ship! Are we gonna go to space?" he asked with excitement.

Willy shook his head.

"No silly boy, up and out!"

"But the roof's made of glass. It'll shatter into pieces! We'll be shredded! I think I'm gonna throw up..." Mrs. Teevee yelled, clutching her mouth and looking towards the ground.

"Probably. Hold on everybody, Here it comes!" Willy announced, not seeming to care about the possibility of being shredded to death.

Seconds later, the Wonkavator crashed through the glass roof and flew into the cloudless sky.

"Wow! Look mom! We're flying!" Mike happily exclaimed, looking at the quaint town below.

His mother still clutched her mouth.

"M-Mr. Wonka? Do you have any more rainbow drops?" she shakily requested.

"Of course my dear lady..." Willy replied as he handed her a rainbow drop.

Mike could not help but admire the beautiful view of Charlie's hometown.

"This is so cool Mr. Wonka!" he happily shouted.

Willy let out a smile, glad to see his new heir enjoying the ride.

"How did you like the chocolate factory Mike?"

"It was so cool! I liked it but the boat ride kinda scared me!" the little cowboy replied.

Willy chuckled.

"That's quite alright. I'm very glad you enjoyed yourself otherwise because I'm giving it to you. That's alright, isn't it?"

The Teevees exchanged shocked looks.

"Really?" Mike asked, not sure how to make of it.

"You know, I can't go on forever and I don't really want to try. So, who can I trust to run the factory when I leave and take care of the oompa loompas for me?" Willy asked.

"Do you have any family left?" Mrs. Teevee interrupted.

Willy let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm afraid not..."

"So, that's why you sent out the golden tickets!" Mike blurted out.

"Exactly. I don't want a grownup because they would want to do everything his way, not mine. That's why I decided a long time ago I had to find a child. A very honest, loving child whom I can tell all my most precious candy making secrets." Willy sadly told Mike, knowing that Mike did not meet his expectations.

He feared that Mike would one day rebel against him and run the factory his own way. Then he realized that he could possibly be the easiest to influence since Mike was much younger than the other ticket finders.

"Anyway, the factory's yours Mike, you can move in immediately. You know, you don't have to be an actor to be a TV star..." Willy stated, as if he were announcing a death.

"Mr. Wonka? Don't you realize that my husband and I both have full time jobs back home? We can't just drop everything!" Mrs. Teevee protested.

"Mom! You guys are both teachers and you can be a teacher anywhere in the world! Marble Falls is stupid and this will be my chance of being a TV star!" Mike snapped, wanting to live in the wonderous chocolate factory to fulfill his longtime goal.

Willy smiled, somewhat relieved that his heir did not follow his mother's wishes. He was desperate for an heir and was still shocked that Mike passed the final test.

Mrs. Teevee grumbled, still feeling ill.

"How about this? We'll stay in Marble Falls for the remainder of the school year and we'll move in during the summer." she offered.

Willy paused and grabbed his chin.

"Hmm... I suppose we can do that. Oh- here come our friends from the tour!" he yelled as he pointed at the factory door, which swung wide open.

The first to exit the factory were the Gloops. Augustus was covered in head-to-toe chocolate, shaking uncontrollably. He appeared to be sobbing as his mother gently placed her hand onto her clearly traumatized son's chocolate caked shoulder. Mike piteously looked at the Gloops, remembering Charlie attempting to spare Augustus from his fate in the Chocolate Room.

Next were the Beauregardes. Although she was back to her normal shape, Violet's skin was still a bright blue and perfectly matched her pants suit. All of her clothes were stretched and ripped. Violet buried her blue face in her hands in shame. Father and daughter walked out, arm in arm. Mike could see Mr. Beauregarde attempting to comfort Violet.

The Buckets arrived moments later. Unlike the others, Charlie was in perfect shape but was also crying. It appeared that the blond boy was crying harder than Augustus. Mike and Willy both felt a pang of sadness at the sight of Charlie's sorrow.

Lastly, the Salts walked out, both covered in rotting garbage. They each had furious looks etched on their rancid faces. Mrs. Teevee felt nauseous again just looking at the garbage covered pair, imagining the horrid stench. Mike burst into laughter.

"She's all covered in trash!" he loudly laughed as he noticed Veruca pointing at the Wonkavator, presumably demanding her father to get one.

Instead of caving into his daughter's orders, Mr. Salt gave her a stern look.

"Wow, looks like he told her no! That's so awesome and she deserved it!" Mike yelped as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Well, well, it looks like Mr. Salt has learned his lesson and I hope the others will become wiser for the wear." Willy replied, still closely watching a sobbing Charlie.

At that moment, a strong sadness struck the candyman, reminding him that his original plan failed miserably. He was aware of Charlie's poverty from a newspaper article, feeling sorry for the boy and worried about his future. Willy could have easily spared Charlie and his family from an impoverished life, providing them a wonderful home and a lifetime supply of chocolate.

" _If only he hadn't stolen Fizzy Lifting Drinks..."_ the chocolatier sadly thought to himself.

"Are you okay Mr. Wonka?" Mike innocently asked.

"Oh yes my dear boy! YES!" he shouted, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Are you excited to live here?" Willy continued.

"Yeah! Are there gonna be a lot cool TV's here?" Mike replied.

His heir's response further saddened Willy. That was the whole reason to take the group to the Television Room, to teach Mike that there are many things in life besides the television. He was now even more determined to do so, without shrinking him via Wonkavision.

"YES! Of course my dear boy, of course..." Willy replied.

Suddenly, a loud gagging noise echoed the crowded Wonkavator. Willy and Mike both turned to see that Mrs. Teevee had vomited into her purse.

"Mr. Wonka, could we please go back to the factory? I don't feel good."

"Of course my dear lady..." Willy warmly replied as Mrs. Teevee vomited into her purse once more.


	3. Sweet Victory

**Hi readers, I'm finally back! I am very sorry for not being active on Fanfiction for quite some time. I've had a very rough two months with college along with some family issues going on at the same time. But hey, it's great to be back! Response time:**

 **LinkWonka88, I'm very glad that you enjoyed this chapter and you shall find out about the Television Room and whether Wonka gets over his disappointment.**

 **Sonny April, well, you're in quite for a treat! (no pun intended) Thanks for the correction about the word 'caked', I've used that word far too often in my fics and you do bring out a very good point about it. Also, I did check out the "Charlie and Mike and the Chocolate Factory" fic after you told me about it. I read it and I actually enjoyed it!**

 **John Hammond, you shall find out very soon and yes, some of the other characters will make appearances throughout the story but I'm not telling who!**

 **Tristan, it's a tad too late to say that! Mike wins the factory in this fic and it's just an AU.**

 **Guest, I'm so glad you've enjoyed this fic and yes, a part of me does think that Mike deserved to win since Charlie and Grandpa Joe stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks.**

 **Now, on to the story! :D**

After Mrs. Teevee recovered from her severe motion sickness, Willy led the Teevees outside the factory door, where the large crowd loudly cheered.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Here is the winner of my contest and... my new heir!" the chocolatier announced with fake enthusiasm as the crowd cheered even louder.

Some people were aggressively waved their tiny American flags and a pair of unkept hippies raised a tattered Arizona flag. Mike was at first overwhelmed by the sight of the wild crowd all cheering for him. When he saw his home state's flag and the many TV stations cameras pointing directly at him, Mike let out a huge smile. At that moment, he realized that he finally became a TV star. Willy shakily gave the tiny cowboy his large golden key to the Inventing Room.

The candyman gently placed his hand onto Mike's shoulder and let out a fake smile, struggling to conceal his disappointment. Mike did not mind the anchormen and women from all over the globe interviewing him this time around as he was proud of himself for finally fulfilling his longtime dream. Once all of the media finally left the factory gates, Mike looked at the candyman with a huge smile.

"Hey Mr. Wonka, you're absolutely right! I didn't need to be an actor to be a TV star! The whole world loves me now! I can't wait to move here!" the tiny cowboy happily exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Willy let out another fake smile.

"I'm so glad to hear that." he flatly replied, watching the colorful sunset.

"Mike, could you please stop jumping like a maniac?!" Mrs. Teevee sternly scolded her overjoyed son.

He immediately stopped jumping and rolled his wide blue eyes.

"Come on mom, aren't you happy for me?!" he snapped.

"Of course I am, I just want you to behave!" she replied.

Willy blocked out the Teevees' arguing, still watching the darkening sunset and thinking about Charlie. He could not get the blond boy and his grandfather out of his mind. As the sun had sunk towards the ground, Willy snapped out of his thoughts and gestured the Teevees towards the exit.

"Thank you both for coming and I'm very happy that you will be the heir of my factory. Travel safe and see you both in June." Willy told them as he feebly shook Mike's hand.

"Bye Mr. Wonka!" Mike happily cried as he and his mother walked out of the gates.

As Willy silently watched the pair disappear into the twilight, he heard Mike yell: "VICTORY IS MINE! YEE HAW!" followed by two loud clicking noises from a distance.

The candyman let out a heavy sigh upon hearing the sound of Mike's toy pistol clicking and slowly trudged back into the mysterious chocolate factory, already dreading to just see the Teevees again.

Early the next morning, the Teevees rushed for their flight back home. At the airport, the paparazzi hounded mother and son, aggressively snapping their cameras at them. Mrs. Teevee covered her face with her purse while Mike happily posed for the media, clutching his beloved gun.

"We don't have time for this Mike!" Mrs. Teevee retorted as she yanked her tiny son by the wrist.

Just walking to the terminal seemed like an eternity to Mrs. Teevee as they barely made their five hour flight on time. On the plane, Mike could see his fellow passengers watching him and his mother from afar. He fiddled with his gun and stuffed his face with the free candy from Willy. Mrs. Teevee was relieved when her rowdy son finally fell asleep on the plane and read her favorite _Life_ magazines in peace. When the plane began to descend towards Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Mike jolted awake.

"Hey mom, are we landing now?" he asked as Mrs. Teevee groggily nodded.

Walking through the airport was even more difficult than the first time around with many cameramen, anchormen, and cheering locals following the newly famous pair. Much to Mike's dismay, Mrs. Teevee declined all of the last minute interview requests, eager to go home.

The Teevees finally made it out of the airport and quickly leapt into the family's olive green Jeep Cherokee. Mr. Teevee let out a huge smile.

"You did it son, I'm so proud of you!" he exclaimed with pure joy and tightly hugged his son.

"I did! And guess what, I'm a TV Star!" Mike added as he put on his seatbelt.

"That's my boy. Don't forget to say hi to your baby brother!" Mr. Teevee replied.

Mike turned to see his two year old brother Robbie staring at him and loudly sucking his thumb in his baby seat. The tiny toddler closely resembled Mike's two year old self, with the exception of his light red hair.

"Was Robbie good while we were gone?" Mrs. Teevee asked.

"He sure was! He gave me no trouble at all." her husband responded as he glanced back at his two sons.

"HEY! THAT'S MINE!" Mike shrieked as Robbie snatched his beloved toy pistol out from his pockets.

The red-haired toddler struggled to find the pistol's trigger. Before he could pull it, Mrs. Teevee grabbed it from him and gave it back to Mike.

"No, no sweetie. You're too little to have one. Maybe in a couple of years." she calmly told her youngest son as he burst into tears.

"Shut up Robbie!" Mike hissed, plugging his fingers deep into his ears.

"Mike! Don't make things worse!" Mrs. Teevee yelled as Mike fell silent.

The family arrived to Marble Falls three hours later. The small town was oddly deserted when they first entered.

"This is weird," Mike remarked, looking at his seemingly empty hometown.

Only a handful of cars were parked downtown and the lone person to be seen was an elderly woman walking her chihuahua. As the Teevees drove into their subdivision, they eyed a long string of cars parked alongside the road.

"Hey! Are they all here for me?" Mike eagerly asked.

Even more cars were parked by their small white Spanish style house. The family could see dozens of their neighbors gathered in their front yard.

"I think you're right son!" Mr. Teevee happily announced as they struggled to find a place to park their car.

After they finally found a spot, Mike leapt out of the car and dashed towards his house.

"MIKE!" all of his neighbors screamed as they all swarmed towards the tiny cowboy with hugs.

"I made this cake just for you sweetie!" a middle-aged woman praised as she displayed a large homemade cake which read: "CONGRATS MIKE" in blue icing.

"Wow, this is so great!" Mike cried with pure joy.

The tiny cowboy enjoyed every moment of his surprise party as more guests arrived and crammed into the small Teevee residence. As he sat on his usual spot on the sofa, watching another rerun of his favorite show on TV and finishing up his second slice of cake, someone shouted: "HOWDY PARTNER!"

Mike turned to see his three best friends from school: Billy, Maggie, and Fishface.

All of the children were clad in cowboy costumes, as when they played cowboys and indians in Mike's living room.

"Howdy Billy! Maggie! Fishface!" Mike yelped with excitement, thrilled that all of his best friends came to support him.

"Hey! Don't call me that!" Fishface snapped as he bit his lip.

As his nickname implied, Fishface had unusually wide blue eyes and a small mouth that at times resembled a fish's mouth.

"Relax Dave, you know he's just yanking your chain!" Maggie coaxed as she tightly hugged her now famous friend.

"I can't believe ya actually won the contest! I'm so happy for ya! I knew you could do it!" Billy praised.

"Really?" Mike asked with a huge smile.

"Me too! But, will you come visit us since you're moving to Wonka's?" Maggie questioned with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Mike's smile immediately faded.

"I hope so, but it'll be hard. You know how expensive airplane rides can get!"

"So, do you know when you're heading out?" Dave added.

"In June but I don't know exactly when. My mom's gonna take care of that with Mr. Wonka." Mike responded, pondering his future.

"I see. But, in the meantime, let's play bandits!" Billy suggested, hypnotized by the television.

Mike's slightly freckled face lit up.

"Yeah! Let's do it but, wait till commercial break! Here comes the best part!" Mike yelped as he and his three friends all fixated on every detail of the intense shootout that was depicted on the television.


End file.
